Full review to come on Goodreads and Amazon. Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for a review copy.

Two timelines - the summer Jennifer turns 11 and Jennifer, 20 years later.

Jennifer is excited to return to Big Cypress Swamp, with her friends. It's the summer she's turning 11 and she hopes it's finally when she's going to gain the family gift of "second sight". Then tragedy strikes, when one child goes missing, and Jennifer's father goes to jail.

Twenty years later, Jennifer is an adult, constantly being harassed by the mother of her missing friend. When a new podcast starts covering their story, and the finale is coming soon. As with most podcasts, the final episode has the resolution of cold cases, unsolved mysteries, so everyone is on the edge of their seat.

As with other books that use a podcast to frame a story, there are both pluses and minuses. I think sometimes the podcast is used as a crutch, and that does happen here, but that doesn't pull away from the mystery. This is a good thriller and I couldn't wait to find out the truth.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Lori Roy’s The Final Episode is like a Southern Gothic casserole: part true crime, part family drama, with a generous sprinkle of supernatural spice. Set in the steamy Big Cypress Swamp, the story follows Jennifer Jones, who, at eleven, hopes to gain the “second sight” her family legend promises. Instead, she gets a front-row seat to a summer of vanishing girls, paternal incarceration, and enough secrets to fill a gator’s belly.

Fast forward twenty years, and Jennifer’s past refuses to stay buried. A true crime series, Inspired by True Events, digs up the old case, airing dirty laundry and threatening to unravel Jennifer’s carefully constructed life. As the show progresses, so does Jennifer’s descent into a murky mire of memories, doubts, and the ever-looming question: Did her dad really do it?

Roy masterfully weaves timelines, blending childhood innocence with adult disillusionment. The narrative structure, alternating between Jennifer’s recollections, letters to her imprisoned father, and episodes of the TV series, keeps readers on their toes. It’s like binge-watching a thriller while reading a diary. It's intimate, suspenseful, and occasionally unsettling.

While some plot twists might be as predictable as a Florida thunderstorm, others strike with the surprise of a snapping turtle. The pacing starts leisurely, much like a lazy summer day, but soon accelerates, pulling readers into a whirlpool of revelations and reckonings.

The Final Episode is a compelling concoction of mystery, memory, and media. It’s a reminder that the past, much like the swamp, has a way of resurfacing when you least expect it. So, grab your bug spray, keep your wits about you, and dive into this atmospheric tale. You might just find yourself bewitched by its murky charm.

Thank you NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for this ARC!

Wow this was a fantastic book! I flew threw it in two days because I just had to see how this story unfolded.

I've read a lot of books with podcast in them and they are always great. This was an interesting twist because it was true crime TV. It reminded me of watching the Jinx unfold back a few years ago. While we all held our breath if they solved the crime.

The book goes back and forth with episodes of a reenactment of 20 years ago and the modern day characters waiting for the final episode to drop to see if they solved Francie's disappearance.

The characters were amazing and I loved them all so much! The twists were great, I did not see many of them coming. The ending wrapped up well.

This is definitely a great read and I highly recommend it!

A slow burn that uses episodes of a true crime television show to examine the mystery of young Francie, who disappeared years ago. Jennifer's father is in prison and she's always struggled not only with that but with her own understanding of what happened that summer when she was 11 and everything blew up. Each episode pulls more from her mind and roils her even more. You'll feel Jennifer's distress and be pulled along to fund out the truth. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

This was the perfect summer read, quick moving, and un- put downable!
It is a great storyline with lots of twists and turns.

Jenny has not had the best childhood, her mom died giving birth to her and as loving as her dad is, she feels like an outsider except when summer rolls around and they pack up to spend time together at their cottage near the swamp, where Tia and Mandy spend summers as well, Tia is Jenny's best and only friend but everything changes when Nora and her mom show up trying to outrun the media frenzy surrounding them because of their connection to a local missing little girl named Francie who is about the same age as the girls. This summer will be very different for many reasons, danger, betrayal, and heartbreak.

Fast-forward 20+ years later, a television series about Francie is causing Jenny to relive the summer that changed her life forever, and not everyone involved is happy about it.

I truly enjoyed the way the author made you feel you were 11 again how it felt to want to have a friend, to fit in, the anxiousness of it all, being a kid is tough and the author was able to transport me right back to that time. I felt the butterflies, the anticipation, fear, and pure joy right along with those girls. I enthusiastically recommend "The last episode" by Lori Roy

This one really worked for me. I’d put it at 4.5 stars. It dragged a little here and there, but I was into it the whole time, and when I wasn’t reading, I was still thinking about it.

As a thriller, it delivers exactly what you want. There are twists, plenty of moments where you’re second-guessing everything, and enough red herrings to keep it interesting without feeling overdone.

But what really makes it stand out is the emotional depth. Jenny’s story is just really well told. The way the book explores her grief, her relationship with her dad, and how that one summer followed her into adulthood felt honest and grounded. The character work adds a lot of weight to everything that happens.

It’s sharp, layered, and satisfying. One of the better thrillers I’ve read in a while.

A really fun summer read and excellently done thriller. I really enjoyed the plotting and found the "show within a book" premise really well done and clever.

While the book occasionally dragged, it never did so for long and I was always pulled right back in. The descriptions about Florida summers with friends, the wildness of the swamp, wanting so badly to fit in - made me nostalgic (although I'm from AZ, I can at least relate to the heat). The unraveling of the mystery and the many twists made this hard to put down.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

Lori Roy mashes Southern gothic vibes with the modern true crime obsession, as Jennifer Jones is forced to revisit the traumatic summer that defined her past—and possibly distorted the truth. The eerie setting of Big Cypress Swamp, a decades-old disappearance, and a reality series digging into long-buried secrets create a rich backdrop for this emotionally charged story.

Roy explores memory, identity, and legacy with a deft hand, delivering twists that feel earned and characters that linger. A compelling, thought-provoking read perfect for fans of true crime with a literary edge.

Thank you Lori Roy, Brilliance, Thomas & Mercer, and Netgalley for the advanced copy!

#thefinalepisode #netgalleyarc #netgalleyreview #netgalley #arcreview #arc #arcreader #review #somanybookssolittletime

This gripping book has you wondering from the start. I did find some of the plot twists to be a bit predictable but that didn't take away my enjoyment. It's part epistolary part tv show episodes, following the disappearance of Francie as well as the aftermath as the episodes of the series about Francie's disappearance get aired and new information is uncovered that was previously unknown.

This was the perfect summer read, quick moving, and un- put downable!
It is a great storyline with lots of twists and turns.

Jenny has not had the best childhood, her mom died giving birth to her and as loving as her dad is, she feels like an outsider except when summer rolls around and they pack up to spend time together at their cottage near the swamp, where Tia and Mandy spend summers as well, Tia is Jenny's best and only friend but everything changes when Nora and her mom show up trying to outrun the media frenzy surrounding them because of their connection to a local missing little girl named Francie who is about the same age as the girls. This summer will be very different for many reasons, danger, betrayal, and heartbreak.

Fast-forward 20+ years later, a television series about Francie is causing Jenny to relive the summer that changed her life forever, and not everyone involved is happy about it.

I truly enjoyed the way the author made you feel you were 11 again how it felt to want to have a friend, to fit in, the anxiousness of it all, being a kid is tough and the author was able to transport me right back to that time. I felt the butterflies, the anticipation, fear, and pure joy right along with those girls. I enthusiastically recommend "The last episode" by Lori Roy

I really enjoyed this book - the plot was structured very creatively and kept me hooked, and I really enjoyed the characterization.

Ａｕｄｉｏｂｏｏｋ & Ｅｂｏｏｋ Ｒｅｖｉｅｗ
🌟🌟🌟
The final episode by Lori Roy, unfortunately, wasn't for me. I should have DNF'd this book, but I just wanted to see what was going to happen, but not in a happy or good way. Just to say, I finished it. I felt like a lot of nothing happened in this story. I did like the episode-style writing and the dual timeline.

I don't know; I just felt like something was missing and was kind of confused.

The audiobook is narrated by P.J. Morgan, and she did a good job telling the story. She was easy to listen to and understand. Listened at 2x speed.

Thank you, NetGalley, Brilliance Publishing, for the audiobook, and Thomas & Mercer for the ebook in exchange for my honest review.

★★★★

It’s the beginning of summer, and Jennifer Jones is excited. Like every summer, Jennifer and her dad, Paul, are headed to Big Cypress Swamp, where she will spend the next few months with her two best friends. She is also turning eleven this summer, which is a big deal in her family. On their eleventh birthday, the women in her family are said to gain second sight.

”This is her favorite moment at the swamp. The just-before moment when the whole summer is ahead of them.”

Unfortunately, the summer does not turn out as Jennifer had hoped. Francie Farrow, a young girl, vanishes, and her missing person case quickly becomes national news. But it doesn’t end there. Paul Jones is sent to prison for the crime.

Fast forward twenty years, and Jennifer is once again struggling with being labeled as Paul’s daughter when a true crime podcast turns its focus to Francie Farrow’s disappearance. The podcast gained widespread attention with a previous case, revealing the truth in its final episode. Tensions run high, threatening Jennifer’s career and well-being as the nation counts down to The Final Episode and the truth that will finally be revealed.

Lori Roy is a new author to me, and I quite enjoyed her writing. The plot was complex and well-layered. Though it was a bit of a slow burn, there were plenty of subtle clues that hinted at a major reveal. And Lori Roy absolutely delivered. This is a dark tale with plenty of suspects. It seemed as though everyone in Big Cypress Swamp had something to hide. While I had some ideas that turned out to be correct, I could never have guessed the sheer evil that lurked in the swamp. The final chapters left me completely stunned.

The story is told through Jennifer’s memories, letters to her father, and the podcast. While I felt the narrative could have been a bit more concise (some parts felt slightly repetitive) perhaps that is simply part of the retelling style.

If you are a fan of true crime fiction, I highly recommend checking this one out.

Thank you NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer, and Lori Roy for an advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

Amazing True Crime Series, it was chilling and gripping. very hard to put down.

My first novel by Lori and won't be my last.

While this book really promsing, unfortunately this did not pan out. I felt like the characters really didn't connect with me. There is a really good pacing from this book though. I think if you like horror books that are fast reads, you would like this.

The narrative’s use of shifting timelines and various viewpoints, blending scenes from the true crime show with letters Jennifer writes to her incarcerated father, really drew me in. This book is packed with twists and tension, making you doubt every event and every character along the way!

I went through this book both by reading and listening, depending on where I was or how I felt — and somehow, that combination made the experience even more intense. The story had this thick, gothic atmosphere that settled in from the very beginning. It wasn’t easy. At times it felt like I was wandering through a fog — everything dark, a little disorienting, sometimes even emotionally heavy. But I couldn’t stop. Whether I had the book in my hands or the narrator’s voice in my ears, something kept pulling me deeper.

There was a quiet momentum to it all, like things were slowly unraveling but always heading toward something. I didn’t always understand where it was taking me, but I felt like I had to trust it. And in the end, I was glad I did.

It was hard, in a strange, beautiful way. Not the kind of story you rush through — more like one you have to feel your way through, piece by piece. Listening gave me the tone and texture, while reading let me sink into the details. Together, it all came alive.

3.5⭐️
As a fan of true crime shows, really enjoyed this book. The story is told by episodes of the show and multiple time lines. A page turner, couldn't wait to get to the final episode to see what really happened. Thank you to Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for ARC.

I enjoyed the alternating timelines and multiple POVs through the episodes of the true crime show and letters written. This book is intense and twisty but I found it somewhat predictable, which is not bad, as I think it's hard to surprise.